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Longest Night Offers Promise Of Brighter Days

Blue Christmas or Longest Night services gather together those who are wounded or sick, grieving or lost to let them know they are not alone.

Often held in the evening and often on Dec. 21, which marks the winter solstice or longest night, the services are not unique to any denomination. They may feature candles, meditative music, psalms of lament and healing and special blessings, according to Church Health Reader. They may grow out of bereavement groups, and they may offer congregations a chance to put people in touch with counselors or other sources of consolation.

They are, in short, a way of reminding people who suffer that once the longest night is past, the days again begin to lengthen.

The first Blue Christmas service may have been held in British Columbia in 1987, according to The Associated Press.

Christ Church Cathedral in St. Louis held its fourth annual Blue Christmas service Monday. Part of the service was lighting candles that each represented a struggle people might feel acutely at Christmas like illness, broken relationships and addiction, according to the AP.

Taylor Burton-Edwards, director of worship resources for the General Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church in Nashville, Tenn., told the AP the services address a need: “Part of it is a recognition that both the culture and even the church, at this time of year, can tend to completely overlook suffering. Everybody is supposed to be cheery and happy and all of that, and yet that isn’t the case for some people.”

The frantic pace with which we approach the Christmas holiday can lead to stress even for those in the best of circumstances. For those who are dealing with pain, loss, illness or despair, the holiday season must pose an especially painful burden. Blue Christmas services are meant to offer some solace if only in the knowledge that no one suffers alone.

As the Rev. David Muench, an ordained Lutheran pastor, told the AP: “We know that people can manage uncomfortable emotions when they are around other caring people. If it (helps me know) I’m not alone and there are others in this with me, it can be very valuable.”

This is a ministry in which anyone may take part. You do not have to have a service to reach out to someone who is suffering and say, “Friend, I am with you.”

To all our readers, we wish a merry Christmas, but if that is not possible, we wish you a Christmas filled with peace and consolation and a glimpse of the daylight to come.